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Member Details

Mr Henry DANGAR (1796 - 1861)

Member Photo
Date of Birth: 18/11/1796
Place of Birth: St Neot, Cornwall, England
Date of Death: 02/03/1861
Place of Death: Singleton, New South WAles, Australia
Parliamentary Service
Position Start End Period Notes
Member of the NSW Legislative Council 01 Oct 1845 30 Jun 1851 5 years 9 months An Elective Member of the first Legislative Council 1843 - 1856 for the County of Northumberland
Political Party Activity
Community Activity
Cornish place names scattered through the Hunter Valley mark Henry Dangar's surveys and record his deep affection for his birthplace, Mount Dangar, Dangarfield and Dangarsleigh commemorate his name.
Qualifications, occupations and interests
Surveyor and Pastoralist. Appointed assistant in the Survey Department and employed in the counties of Camden and Argyle. Transferred to Newcastle to make a detailed survey of the Hunter Valley and for the next two years measured and marked out in the Hunter River and as far north as Patrick's Plains. Also marked the road from Newcastle to Wallis Plains (Maitland) was found guilty pursuant to a Board of Inquiry of using his public position for private gain and was dismissed from his office on 31 March 1827. Governor Darling recommended that he be dispossessed of the land under dispute in the inquiry and be required to take up his grant in some other district. Returned to England to appeal against this recommendation. Was offered an appointment as a surveyor at Port Stephens. Purchased additional grazing properties and in New Zealand established a steam flour mill near the wheat farms around Official Bay. As a magistrate and member of the district council his experience and judgment were in frequent demand and he gave time and energy to the agricultural and political advancement of the Hunter Valley. Sailed for England in 1852 and returned to New South Wales in 1856 after touring Europe.
Military Service
Honours Received
Membership of other Parliaments & Offices Held
Local Government Activity
Personal
Son of William Dangar and his wife Judith Hooper, daughter of John Hooper. Married Grace Sibley, daughter of John and Ann Sibley, at St Neot, Cornwall, on 13 May 1828, and had issue, 5 sons and 2 daughters. Henry Dangar had five brothers, all of whom migrated to New South Wales. They were William Dangar (1800 - 1868); Thomas Dangar (1807 - 1878); Richard Cary Dangar (1817 - 1866); Charles Cary Dangar (1809 - 1875); and John Hooper Dangar (1811 - 1849).
Additional Information
Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 1 The Dangar Family Papers are at the University of New England. Biography and portrait in ‘Australian Men of Mark’, Volume 1. Sydney, [?1889] , page 318